


Untitled College AU (Charity ficlets)

by peacockcock



Series: Untitled College AU [3]
Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), American Idol RPF, Kris Allen (Musician)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-16
Updated: 2011-10-16
Packaged: 2017-10-24 16:38:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/265630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peacockcock/pseuds/peacockcock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three moments building up to their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Untitled College AU (Charity ficlets)

Adam stands in front of the mirror, picking at his strawberry blond hair. It’s just so _blah_. He wants something different, something drastic. There is nothing cute about a nineteen-year-old with blond hair and freckles. It makes him feel like Jan Brady.

“I’m thinking about dying my hair,” Adam says out loud, more to himself than to Tommy.

Back in high school he had to dye his hair darker for a role in a play and he always thought it looked pretty good. Although, shortly after, he had a very unfortunate bleaching incident that made him look like a member of N’sync.

Tommy looks up at him from his magazine. “What color?”

“Black, maybe?” Adam wonders if that might be a little too extreme, but he decided this year that he was going to make some changes. He had already lost some weight over the summer and bought a whole new wardrobe. For the first time in his life, Adam actually doesn’t mind looking at himself in the mirror.

Tommy is still peering up at him, looking like he’s trying to imagine what Adam would look like with black hair. After a moment he shrugs, going back to his magazine. “Go for it.”

-

About an hour later they are back in their dorm with a box of black hair dye. He probably should go to a professional for this, but he figures it can’t be too hard. He has watched Danielle do it a thousand times.

“Are you sure about this?” Tommy asks, looking at the box. “Once you do it, it will be a bitch to go back to your natural color.”

Adam makes a face. “I don’t want to go back to my natural color. I need a change.”

Tommy sighs and walks over to the box of his stuff in the middle of the room, continuing to unpack. “Whatever, man.”

Adam opens the box and takes out the plastic gloves and the bottle, giving himself one last look in the mirror just to make sure. He puts on the gloves and gets everything set up, reading the instructions to make sure he won’t make his hair fall out.

“I’m hungry,” Tommy says. “I’m thinking Subway. You want anything?”

Adam looks up from the instructions. “Yeah, just get me whatever.”

“Alright,” Tommy says, looking over his shoulder before walking out. “Don’t get that shit all over the place.”

Adam rolls his eyes at the closed door.

-

Hair dye is fucking messy. He probably should’ve changed his shirt before he did this because it’s dripping all over. About two minutes in, after his shirt is already ruined, he comes up with the clever idea of wrapping a towel around his neck. His eyebrows are burning a little but he figures he can’t have black hair and blond eyebrows.

“Knock, knock,” Adam hears Brad say from behind him. He looks up at him through the mirror. “I have someone I’d like you to–Adam, what the fuck are you doing?”

Adam shakes his head because, seriously? “What the fuck does it look like I’m doing? I’m dying my hair.”

At first he doesn’t even notice that there is someone else in the room besides Brad. “Oh, well,” Brad says, “stop for a minute and introduce yourself to my new roommate.”

He probably shouldn’t stop halfway through, but he doesn’t want to be a jackass to the guy he has to share his bathroom with. Adam puts the bottle down and turns around and, _oh._

The guy, Brad’s roommate, is cute. Like, ridiculously so. He has messy hair and big brown eyes. Much better than the guy Brad was roomed with last year.

Adam realizes that he’s staring. “Hi, I’m Adam,” he says, smiling softly. “I’d, uh, shake your hand, but…” He holds his hands up to show the guy his slimy gloves.

“I’m Kris,” he says shyly and Adam thinks he detects an accent in his voice. Of fucking course the cute boy would have an accent. Every cute boy has an accent.

Kris is looking up at him, a little bewildered. “…your eyebrows.”

Adam looks up, although he can’t actually see them. This isn’t really the setting he’d like to be in while meeting Kris. He’d prefer to not look like a mess and covered in black shit.

“Oh, yeah,” Adam laughs. “I’m naturally a strawberry blonde and that is so not sexy. I look like I’m twelve, so I have to dye my eyebrows too.”

Kris is still staring at him quizzically and it’s making Adam feel a little uncomfortable. It wouldn’t surprise him if Kris thinks he’s weird, or isn’t used to guys like him. Adam only spoke to Brad’s last roommate maybe three times through the entire year. He seemed like he didn’t want to spend any time around the three of them. It would just hurt a little more in this case because Kris is cute and Adam wouldn’t mind spending time with him.

“So, where’s Tommy?” Brad asks.

Adam is pulled out of his daze, realizing that he’s been staring back at Kris the whole time. “What?” he asks, turning to Brad. “Oh, uh, Tommy went to Subway for dinner. I would’ve told him to get you guys something but I didn’t know you’d be coming over.”

Brad calls Tommy to tell him what he and Kris want, leaving the two of them standing there awkwardly, still staring at each other. Adam’s not quite sure what to say and he should probably finish his hair anyway. He turns back to the sink, squeezing some more dye to the back of his head. This part is difficult because he can’t actually see what he’s doing, or if he’s missing any spots.

“Do you need some help?” Kris asks, a few steps closer than he was just moments ago when Adam looks up from the mirror.

Adam turns to look at him, a little hesitant. Maybe Kris isn’t too freaked out by him after all. “Um, yeah… I mean, if you want to.”

He grabs the other pair of gloves and hands them to Kris. “You’re gunna have to wear these, though.” Kris takes the gloves and puts them on. They look so ridiculous on him that Adam can’t help but smile. He grabs the bottle from Adam’s hand, looking a little lost. “It’s pretty self-explanatory. Just squeeze the dye on until my whole head is covered with it.”

When Kris shifts closer, Adam turns back around and slouches a bit so Kris can see properly. Adam closes his eyes at the first touch of Kris’s fingers to his scalp, softly spreading the dye. He watches Kris in the mirror. His tongue is poking out between his lips and he looks like he’s concentrating so hard on not messing up.

Adam might feel something flutter in his belly, but he tries to make it go away.

-

His hair ends up not looking too bad. It’s definitely different and will probably take a while to get used to, but Adam likes it. It makes his eyes stand out more and he no longer looks twelve.

“I like it, hun,” Brad says, running a hand through Adam’s freshly dyed hair. “It looks hot.”

Adam grins. “Thanks.”

Kris is sitting on the floor next to Tommy, his sandwich in his lap. “It looks good,” he says quietly, and Adam does a little victory dance on the inside.

The four of them sit around and eat. They mostly ask Kris questions because the three of them already know each other. Kris is shy at first, a little afraid to open up, but then after a while he’s like an open book, talking and laughing, sharing stories about high school and his life back in Arkansas.

Adam listens closely for any mention of a girlfriend or a boyfriend, but Kris doesn’t mention one. As much as he doesn’t want to fall for someone he lives right next to, he can’t help but feel a little hope. But then…

“You should see his girlfriend,” Brad says. “I saw a picture and she’s adorable. She was even homecoming queen.”

Adam’s hope shatters. Of course Kris is straight. Adam doesn’t even know why he let himself get his hopes up that maybe he wasn’t.

Adam doesn’t say anything. Instead, he picks at his sandwich, no longer feeling hungry.

-

“I saw that look,” Tommy says as soon as Brad and Kris leave the room.

Adam glances over at him. “What look?”

Tommy walks over and sits down on the edge of Adam’s bed, a smile on his lips. “You like Kris.”

Adam clicks his tongue. “I don’t _like_ Kris,” he says. “He’s cute, that’s all. I don’t even know him.”

“Mhmm,” Tommy says, unconvinced. “Just don’t fall for him.”

Adam rolls his eyes. Just because he thinks a guy is cute doesn’t mean he’s going to fall in love with him. You’d think his friends would give him some credit.

“I’m not going to fall for him.”

* * *

The first week of school Adam has managed to find all of his classes without being late, ace all of the syllabus quizzes, make time in the mornings to stop at Starbucks, and fall hopelessly in like with the boy in the next room.

It’s not his fault. At first he thought this thing with Kris wouldn’t go any further than ‘oh, he’s cute’ and Adam could live with that. There’s nothing wrong with appreciating a friend’s looks. He appreciates the way Tommy looks all the time, but that doesn’t mean he likes him. With Kris, that all changed when he sang for Adam. It went from a silly little crush to Adam getting sweaty palms whenever Kris is in the same room.

It’s stupid because Kris is straight and has a pretty little girlfriend who he is probably going to marry and have babies with someday. It’s like when Adam fell for the boy in his English class in tenth grade. He had to watch him walk down the halls with his girlfriend every single day for two years. The only time they ever spoke was when Adam’s soda got stuck in the vending machine and the guy kicked it until the bottle came out. Adam just mumbled a ‘thank you’ and scurried off with a blush on his cheeks.

Adam doesn’t want to be that guy anymore. He’s in college now. His hair is fierce as fuck and he has a kick ass new wardrobe. There is no reason to pine over a stupid straight boy that he can never have when he can go out and maybe meet a cute boy of his own that will actually want him back.

And that’s exactly what he plans on doing tonight.

They are going out for the first time since the semester started and Adam can’t wait. He just wants to spend the night dancing and maybe even find someone to buy him some drinks.

“Is Brad ready?” Tommy asks, sitting on his bed playing some bloody zombie video game. Adam has never quite found the appeal of shooting dead things.

Adam watches Tommy blast a zombie’s head off before he turns towards the door. “I’ll go check.”

In the room, Brad is standing with his back facing the mirror, craning his neck over his shoulder to look at his ass. He spots Adam in the doorway. “Do these jeans make me look fat?”

Adam hears a groan from the general direction that he is trying to avoid looking. “I told you that you look fine.”

“He’s right,” Adam agrees. “You weigh like ten pounds. It’s impossible for you to look fat.”

Brad sighs, turning back around to look at himself from the front. “I guess.”

Adam’s eyes drift over to Kris despite his best efforts not to. He’s lying on his stomach with his chin rested on the back of his hands, staring at a blank word document on his laptop.

“Okay, then we’re leaving,” Brad says, stuffing his wallet and phone in his pocket as he walks over to Kris. “No setting the place on fire or jerking off on my bed.”

Kris frowns. “Thanks for ruining my plans for the evening.”

Brad laughs, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of Kris’s head. Adam can’t help the little twinge of jealousy he feels because, how come he’s not allowed to do that?

Kris peers up at Adam, smiling. “You guys have fun.”

Adam blinks a few times, finally catching up with what’s going on. “Wait, you’re not coming?”

“Can’t,” he says. “I have to send this off to my professor by midnight.”

Adam hates that he’s disappointed about this. Kris is the person he is trying to stay away from but he can’t help that he was looking forward to seeing him outside of school and their dorm, to get to know him a little better.

“You need any help?”

Kris smiles politely. “No, thank you.”

Brad grabs Adam’s wrist and drags him through the bathroom before Adam can get another word in.

“I see those eyes,” Brad whispers over his shoulder.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Brad glares at him.

The television is off in his room now and the game controllers are put away. Tommy is slipping on a shirt over his head. Adam can’t help but think of Kris alone in his room, working on his paper while they are out having fun. The irrational side of him contemplates that maybe Kris wouldn’t mind some company.

A few minutes later, Tommy is tossing Adam his keys and heading towards the door, but Adam’s feet stay where they are.

“I think I’m going to stay here,” he says before his mind catches up to stop himself.

Tommy and Brad share a similar look. Brad pipes up first, “This wouldn’t have anything to do with Kris, would it?”

He really hates how they can both see right through him. “No,” he lies. “I just… I’m not in the mood to go out tonight.”

“You’ve been looking forward to going out all week,” Tommy says, an eyebrow raised, calling him out on his shit. “We know you, Adam.”

“You guys don’t know anything,” he snaps. “I’m just not feeling well. I’ll go out with you tomorrow night.”

Tommy stares at him for another moment and then reaches to take Adam’s keys from his hands, leaving without another word. Brad stays back, and Adam can’t help but see the pity in his eyes.

“He has a girlfriend, hun.”

Adam clenches his jaw. “I’m not…” he lets out a frustrated sigh. “I have a headache, okay? I know that Kris has a girlfriend and I don’t even care. This has nothing to do with him.”

He can see it in Brad’s eyes that he doesn’t believe him. But, instead of arguing any longer, he reaches up to pet Adam’s face, and then turns to leave.

-

“Did you forget something?” Kris asks, sitting up in his bed when Adam walks in.

Adam stands awkwardly in the doorway, suddenly feeling kind of like an idiot and thinking maybe he should’ve gone out instead. “They went out but I’ve got a headache and being around that loud music…” He makes a flaily gesture with his hands. “I’m just not in the mood for it.”

Kris smiles. “I get it,” he says. “I’m not really a fan of that kind of thing. I’d rather just, you know, hang out.” He reaches for his laptop and moves it to the other side of the bed to make room. “You can stay in here with me if you want. I have to write this thing though so I probably won’t be too much fun.”

Adam grins, walking over to sit next to Kris on the bed. This is nice, Adam thinks. Even if it never goes anywhere with Kris, just this, being his friend, is nice.

“What do you have to do?” Adam asks.

Kris makes a face. “Write a short story for English,” he says. “I hate writing.”

“Can it be about anything?”

“Yeah, I think. As long as it’s appropriate, or whatever.”

Adam takes a look at the white page Kris has up. “Have you even started?”

Kris shakes his head, scrunching his nose a little. “I can’t think of anything.”

“Well it’s a good thing I stayed back then, huh?”

-

“There has to be a dragon,” Kris says, typing away. “Every story with a prince needs a dragon.”

Adam chuckles, pulling off another piece of the pizza they ordered. “Okay, there can be a dragon.”

Kris’s eyes light up. “And he has to slay him to get to the man he loves.”

Adam chokes on the pizza. “Don’t you mean woman?”

Kris shrugs it off like it’s no big deal. “It would be different,” he says, smiling up at Adam. “Who has ever heard of a fairytale with two men?”

Adam tries to tell his little heart to calm down.

“We need a villain,” Kris says, his eyes flickering over the screen as he reads back what he wrote. “Like the evil Dr. Porkchop.”

Adam laughs at the way Kris’s voice deepens just like in the movie. “Isn’t that the piggy bank in Toy Story?”

Kris blushes. “Don’t judge me, okay?”

“No judging,” Adam says with a warm smile.

-

Adam tries to stay as still as he can as he types, his shoulder a pillow for Kris’s cheek. He can’t help but to glance over, the tickle of Kris’s hair against the side of his face. It’s probably creepy, and is totally crossing the line of keeping Kris in the friend-zone, but he closes his eyes, inhaling the scent of Kris’s shampoo. A part of him wants to tap Kris on the shoulder to wake him up because this is pure hell, but the other part of him, the weak part with absolutely no willpower, wants Kris to stay there.

A few minutes later, Kris picks his head up, looking around blearily and rubbing his eye with the palm of his hand as he yawns. He picks up his phone to check a text and Adam averts his eyes back to the computer screen, not wanting to invade his privacy. Kris drops his phone after the text is sent and looks back up at Adam.

“Sorry for falling asleep on you,” he says in a lazy drawl. “I shouldn’t be letting you do my homework.”

Adam shakes his head, shrugging it off. “It’s fine,” he says. “I’m almost done with it anyway.”

Kris leans in to take a closer look at the computer screen, squinting his eyes as he reads what Adam has written.

“Hey, they end up together,” he says, grinning up at Adam. “I’m glad.”

Adam smiles back. “Of course,” he says. “I couldn’t end it with them apart. What kind of fairy tale would that be?”

Kris nods, a sleepy, content look on his face. “Every story deserves a happy ending.”

“Yeah,” Adam agrees, feeling something warm curling in his belly.

Kris slides off the bed, yawning again. “I’m so freakin’ tired.”

Adam smiles at Kris’s choice of words. In the short amount of time he has known Kris, not once has he heard him say anything worse than ‘hell’ or ‘damn’. Adam feels a little bad sometimes because he spews out the f-word every couple of sentences.

Kris picks at some clothes on his side of the room and Adam’s fingers stall on the keyboard, watching him. He pulls his shirt up over his head and Adam’s eyes travel down the pale skin. His body isn’t even that great but, fuck, Adam just wants to…

He closes his eyes and lets his head fall back against the wall with a thud.

 _I’m screwed._

* * *

Adam touches his fingers to his lips because they feel used and taste like Kris. He fucking _tastes_ Kris on his tongue and his lips. He feels pathetic and stupid, standing here gawking at Kris as he walks through security, but he can’t force himself to walk away.

For months he imagined what it would be like. He would look at Kris, at his face, at his mouth, and wonder what it would be like to kiss him. It was rougher than he thought it would be, with the burn from Kris’s stubble. Adam has kissed a number of people in his life, but he never had a kiss like that. Never had a kiss that he wanted to go on forever, that he could feel all the way down to his toes.

As Kris gets his belongings out of the tub after they are scanned, puts on his shoes and throws his bag over his shoulder, he turns back to Adam. He runs his tongue along his lips and Adam feels a tingle up his spine. Kris can probably taste him, too. And then Kris turns to leave, flashing Adam a bright smile before he disappears.

Adam’s foot actually twitches, as though it wants to step forward to chase after him. He’s not ready for Kris to be gone yet. Whatever this is, it has just begun and Adam wants more, and more, and more.

He stands there for a while after, not wanting to go back to his empty car, back to his home in San Diego, all the way on the other side of the country from Kris. But when he finally starts feeling a little creepy for just standing there, he heads back. He still feels giddy and warm and just really good about everything.

The car still smells a little like Kris, the spicy body wash he uses. Before he can start the car, he pulls his phone out of his pocket and stares at the blank screen. He wants to text him something, knowing his plane hasn’t taken off yet, but he doesn’t know what to say. _Oh, hey. I like the way your mouth tastes_ probably wouldn’t work.

He leans his head against the steering wheel and starts to type out some texts, but erases them before he can hit send.

 _Have a safe flight!!_

No.

 _I miss you already._

He’s not that pathetic.

As he starts to type the next one, the phone vibrates in his hand, startling him enough to almost drop it. He stares down at Kris’s name on the screen for a moment and rubs his sweaty palm against his pant leg before opening it.

 _just so you know, we’re going to do that a lot when i get back_

Adam inhales sharply, his heart pounding in his chest, already anticipating what it will be like to be able to do that all the time, whenever he wants. He leans back in his seat and chews on his thumb nail as he texts Kris back.

 _constantly_

He holds his breath as he waits for the reply.

 _can’t wait_

-

Brad and Danielle figure it out before Adam takes two steps into his room.

“You kissed him,” Brad accuses, clapping his hands together in excitement. “Oh my god, you totally did. I can tell by your face.”

Adam can’t even blush or be embarrassed because it’s true. His cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Last night hurt like hell, to see Kris kissing Justin, but that feels like a million years ago. Kris is his now and nobody – Justin, or anyone else – gets to have that but him.

They pull him down on the bed, Brad squeezing Adam’s hand and Danielle resting her hand on his leg. “Come on, tell us!”

Adam bites his lip. “What do you want to know?”

They look at each other and back at Adam. “Everything!”

Adam tells them about the car ride and what Kris had said to him – well, not everything Kris had said. He does want to keep some things to himself. His smile softens as he remembers the kiss, telling them both all about it.

“I knew it!” Brad says. “I fucking knew it. For weeks I’ve been telling you that Kris wants you and you didn’t believe me.”

Adam shrugs a shoulder and ducks his head. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”

Danielle reaches over to gently touch his arm. “So you’re happy, baby?”

He peers up at her through his eyelashes, his face splitting into a grin.

“I’m very happy.”

-

Danielle is curled up in the passenger seat sleeping while Adam drives, the radio playing softly in the background. He’s still got an insistent flutter in his belly that doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon.

Adam stops at a red light and starts messing with the radio when his phone vibrates in the cup holder. When it vibrates a second time and he realizes it’s not a text, he fumbles to pick it up.

“Hey,” he says quietly, not wanting to wake Danielle.

He can hear the bustling of an airport through the phone. “Hey.”

“How was your flight?”

“It was okay,” Kris says. “I’m in Atlanta now for my layover.”

And then there is silence between them and Adam can’t help but feel a little awkward. That freaks him out a little because nothing is ever awkward with Kris. For a split second, he gets an irrational fear that maybe it was a mistake for them to kiss. Maybe Kris realizes that Adam isn’t what he wants.

“Did y-”

“Are-”

They both start at the same time, laughing quietly as they both stop talking to hear what the other has to say.

“You go first,” Adam says.

There is a long stretch of silence before Adam hears a loud exhale into the phone. “Are you my boyfriend?”

Adam’s heart leaps into his throat and he grips the steering wheel. That is much better than, _did you get a window seat?_

He lowers his voice because he knows Danielle is listening. “Do you want me to be?”

Kris stalls for a moment and then says, “Maybe.”

Adam tries to hide his helpless grin because Danielle isn’t even pretending to be asleep anymore.

“Do you want to be?” Kris asks a little hesitantly, like he thinks there is a possibility of Adam saying no.

Adam isn’t going to play around. He wants this, so he’s taking it. “Yes.”

He can’t help but hear the relief in Kris’s voice. “Thank god.”

Adam chuckles, the bit of tension in the beginning of the conversation vanishes. “You really think I wouldn’t want to?”

“Well, I didn’t know,” Kris stumbles over his words. “I just… the whole plane ride I was freaking out thinking that maybe you changed your mind and thought I was a bad kisser or something.”

Adam licks his lips. “First of all, you’re a fantastic kisser,” he says. “Second of all, you’re an idiot. I haven’t changed my mind about you since the very beginning.”

Kris’s voice softens to a near whisper. “I’m sorry it took me so long.”

Adam thinks about it, from the first time he met Kris and how he already felt something for him. Those feelings grew and became so crushing that Adam doesn’t know what he’d do if it never worked out. He thinks about when Kris and Katy broke up and the small bit of hope that he felt, even though, at the time, he knew it was nothing but false hope.

“It’s okay,” Adam whispers. “You’re here now.”


End file.
